Life Between
by Dannrose
Summary: It started with an impossible birth, a life that went on to change and be changed as it lived between two worlds. Proving that were not as separate as they appeared, as they faced love, joy, pain, darkness and most importantly, just lived.
1. Birth

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to my first fanfiction foray into the incredibly big world of Pokemon. This is sort of my own version of the Pokemon World that'll likely mix many other versions of it. This story will be focused around the leader of Team Instinct, Spark, and will probably jump about a bit instead of being one continuous tale, so closer to a one-shot series. If anyone has any suggestions for future chapters, then please let me know and I'll see if I'll write them.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoy the first chapter.**_

 _ **I do not own any aspect of Pokemon or any of its spin-offs.**_

* * *

 **Birth**

Something was off that night.

He couldn't say what, but something was different in the air, something strange, yet completely familiar, had come. It nagged at his mind, his instincts, his innermost self, moving him to urgency.

Trusting his instincts, he set out to investigate and patrolled the island he called home.

Nothing seemed different, nor out of place, not even his fellow island denizens seemed to notice the odd feel to the night. Yet he still could not shake his sense of urgency and continued his search.

Suddenly, the feeling grew stronger, and he homed in upon it, coming to a, unremarkable, clearing in the island's forests.

At first, nothing was out of place, just an empty clearing ringed by forest trees and containing saplings racing to claim the spot. Then, he noticed the large object sat gently in the middle, with an unmistakeable shape.

An egg.

It was roughly the same size as most eggs, from which all pokemon came, but instead of the usual green spots, it bore no markings. Instead, it was a subtle yellow all over, with almost no flaws.

He lowered his head to examine it closer, however, this egg was not the source of the unusual feeling in the air.

In fact, the feeling had vanished.

He looked upwards into the sky, trying to sense it once more, but only the normal feel of the island remained. Whatever it was, it seemed it merely wanted him to find this egg, and now he had, it had left.

He turned his gaze upon it once more.

He could sense the life inside it, pure, new, and bursting with potential, yet there was something…different…about it. It didn't feel like the life of a pokemon, at least not any he'd encountered in his time, instead it felt like something else.

He glanced around the clearing, where had it come from? He knew that no pokemon of this island would abandon one of their young, and no trainers had stepped upon its shores, so it couldn't have been left by humans.

Which left the matter of what to do with it?

He could leave it with any family nearby, even without knowing what type of pokemon it was, and it would be cared for certain. Alternatively, he could leave it with a worthy trainer who would also rear and love it.

It really came down to what the egg wanted.

Even before hatching, the instincts of pokemon were strong, some wouldn't even hatch until they were with one they trusted. One such as himself could determine a preference from this egg.

He crouched down and lightly touched it…

CRACK!

He leapt back in shock…the egg was hatching now!?

It wobbled and shook, cracks lancing across its surface as the little life within fought to leave its sanctuary. The cracks grew and spread, rapidly marring the flawless surface until the pressure within grew too much and the whole thing shattered.

Silence…then the thin wail of an impossible new-born.

For one of the few times in his life, he openly gaped at what lay before him, his eyes not comprehending the sight they beheld, the impossibility that could only be Arceus' idea of a crazy prank…

A human baby.

Small, pink and toothless, eyes scrunched up and mouth agape as a feeble wail resounded through the night, signalling the first breaths of the lungs. Tiny fists waved uncontrollably as the babe continued to announce the new life it had, and he could only stare.

This was not possible, humans did not come from eggs, they just didn't. That was one of the many things that separated humans from pokemon, a fact of their world's natural order. Therefore, it was impossible for this to have occurred.

He looked up into the sky, looking for answers, how had this happened, why had nature's laws suddenly turned on their heads?

No reply came, just the splendour of the night sky glittering above, and the ceaseless cry of a human that shouldn't be.

He looked down once more and leaned gently over the baby.

Impossible or not, it had happened, and now the child needed to be cared for, human or otherwise. He lightly touched the baby and it immediately began to settle, the wail dulling down to a gurgle as the tiny eyes opened and stared up at him, sealing the decision he'd made in his heart when the egg had begun to hatch.

As babies, humans could be as instinctive as pokemon, and the fact this strange one had hatched at his touch was not lost on him. He was to be the one to care for this little human…

He noticed the obvious.

No…this little boy. This strange, beautiful little boy whose birth defied what had gone before. In a way it made sense, he was hardly normal himself and something told him that this child would need his protection in the future, protection he would gladly give.

He settled down beside the boy, giving him comfort and affection, sheltering him from the cold of the night, not noticing the same feeling that had brought him here briefly return and then disappear once more, as if checking that the child had indeed been taken in.

And thus, Zapdos took a son.

* * *

 _ **PS-So it begins, and I can promise that I have an explanation as to Spark's birth/hatching and how it was possible. Once again, feel free to give any suggestions as to future chapters and please let me know what you thought.**_


	2. First Family Visits

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to the second chapter. This one mostly introduces the other legendary birds and does a little explaining as to how they all relate in this version of the Pokemon World. I hope you all enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **First Family Visits**

Human babies were bizarre.

Most pokemon were pretty mobile from the moment they were born, able to walk on their own in relatively swift order. Humans however, they didn't seem to be capable of much beyond waving their arms and legs foolishly for several months, Zapdos had to carry little Spark around most of the time to begin with (a challenge in and of itself since he lacked human arms).

Then came the issue of feeding, while he knew that human babies didn't eat what he did, he didn't know what they were actually fed with. Fortunately, many of his fellow pokemon had had experience with young humans and a motherly Luxray was more than happy to nurse the boy alongside her own cub.

While he was legendary to many in the world, Zapdos was a familiar face to those who lived on the island, meaning that help was never far away during his rather…unusual...challenge.

Technically, he wouldn't have ever had to worry about childcare until the time came for him to raise the Zapdos that would take his place, so taking Spark under his wing was certainly strange.

Then his siblings found out.

* * *

Moltres was the first to come and see him, basically flying from the equator where she dwelled without stopping to see with her own eyes.

The great fire bird nearly set the whole forest alight as she landed, such was her haste to know the truth, and she strode towards him with purpose.

"Zapdos! Have you truly adopted a human child!?"

He rolled his eyes, "'Oh, hi Zapdos, how are you?' 'Oh, I'm fine, how's everything going with you?' 'Oh, just great thanks.'"

She was unamused by his sarcastic response, "Brother…"

He glanced at her, not at all fazed by her smouldering glare, "Yes, yes I did."

Her glare softened into a look of curiosity, "Why?"

"He wasn't born…normally."

"What do you mean?"

"He hatched, from an egg."

There was a pause…

"WHAT!"

She gaped at him, "But that's impossible!"

"I know."

He glanced back at the nest, where Spark was currently sleeping, "I don't know how this happened, but I saw him hatch with my own eyes."

She sighed, "So you took him as your own."

He looked back to her, "It felt right, how it occurred is a mystery, but I'm certain that he needs my protection. He didn't hatch until I touched the egg."

She nodded in understanding, then glanced at the nest herself, "Can I see him?"

He gave a smirk and stepped aside, allowing her to peep inside the nest, where she cooed affectionally upon seeing Spark.

"He's adorable!"

Zapdos didn't think anyone could say otherwise, Spark was snuggled into a bed of soft grasses and leaves, made even softer by clumps of wool donated by some mareep that lived on the island. With a thumb firmly in his mouth, he certainly looked ridiculously cute.

Moltres looked up, "What did you call him?"

"Spark."

She stared, "Really, Spark?" She sighed, "Couldn't you have come up with something a little more original?"

"Spark is a great name!" He protested.

She ignored him and looked at the boy thoughtfully, "I think he looks like a Fredrick."

"I'm not calling him Fredrick!"

"C'mon, it's a strong, normal, human name."

"But he's not a normal human."

"Zapdos, 'Fredrick' is far better than the cliché of 'Spark'!"

And so, the argument went on for quite some time.

* * *

Articuno arrived much later.

She had to travel all the way from the South of the world, and the lands of perpetual ice, so, with his island being located in the more temperate region in the Northern Hemisphere, it was a long flight.

Unlike Moltres, she landed with the innate grace that she always seemed to display in everything and fixed him with a hard stare.

"Zapdos, why have you adopted a human child? Don't you realise how dangerous that is, it should be returned to the humans immediately for its own good."

Expecting this, Zapdos returned her stare, "Firstly, yes I am well aware of the dangers, secondly, I'm not sure that the humans are the best ones to care for him, in fact, I'm not sure how 'human' he actually is."

Her eyes narrowed, "What do you mean."

"He hatched from an egg."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "But that's not…but how?" She paused, "Fascinating."

She stared at him again, "Tell me, has he shown any signs of extraordinary abilities, advanced senses, innate powers and such like?"

He sighed, "No, not so far anyway."

"Please let me examine him."

With a roll of the eyes, he allowed her to peer into the nest. This time, Spark was awake and happily waving his arms around as he lay on his back, he gurgled up at Articuno as she gazed down upon him, not bothered by her presence and scrutiny.

After staring at him in silence for a long time, she finally turned to Zapdos, "Well, as far as I can tell, he's a normal, healthy human. Though it might be prudent to keep an eye out for anything unusual as he develops."

He looked at her knowingly, "And no doubt you'll want to be the first to know if he does."

She blinked once, "But of course."

She looked back at Spark, her expression softer. Lowering her beak closer to him, she let the boy try and grab her beak, and gave a small smile.

She turned once more to Zapdos, her expression serious, "You should call him Norville."

He actually winced at the thought of lumbering his son with such a name, "He's already called Spark."

She shook her head in despair, "Of course you'd give him the most obvious name imaginable."

"Well its far better than Norville!"

Again, the argument lasted for some time.

* * *

The final visitor was none other than Lugia himself.

While Moltres and Articuno were his siblings, Lugia was more akin to a father in how they thought of him.

While most pokemon conceived naturally, he and his siblings came into being slightly differently. They, like all pokemon, hatched from eggs, but the eggs themselves did not come from 'parents' per say. In fact, Zapdos' birth 'parent' was actually lightning itself, his egg appearing before his predecessor through a lightning strike. From hatching, the previous Zapdos raised him until her death upon his reaching of maturity, in this sense, she was his 'mother'. However, while he, Moltres and Articuno all hatched at the same time, Lugia hatched long before them and was the one to guide them through their early days as adults.

Because of this, they thought of him as their father, despite the fact he was not truly related to them in any way.

In a way it was kind of a surprise that he knew what had occurred, Lugia spent most of his time roaming the depths of the oceans, only appearing in times of crises or before worthy trainers, hardly a place to receive news.

Nevertheless, here he was.

Lugia eyed Zapdos with amusement after he'd landed, "Well Zapdos, I wasn't expecting to become a grandfather so soon." He looked eagerly at the nest, "So, where is he?"

The lightning bird merely gestured with his head and Lugia was immediately peering into the nest. Within seconds, the wide-awake Spark was laughing his head off and grinning like a lunatic, as the mythical leader of the legendary birds pulled silly faces at him.

Eventually, once he'd grown tired of the game, Lugia turned his attention back to Zapdos, "I like him, he reminds me of you when you were that age."

The lightning bird smiled a little at that, before looking a little more serious, "I'm guessing you already know about his unusual 'birth'?"

The elder nodded, "Indeed, a most strange happening." He looked approving, "You were right to take him in yourself." He grinned, "Because it means I get to be a grandad!"

He immediately looked back at the baby and blew a raspberry. Naturally, Spark thought this hilarious and shrieked with glee, and this continued for quite some time until Lugia faced Zapdos with a serious expression, "You know, I think that Damien would be a great name."

Zapdos simply stared.

"Really?"

* * *

Eventually, after a lot of stubbornness from all sides, Spark's full name became Spark, Damien, Fredrick, Norville.

* * *

 _ **PS-And so Spark meets his 'aunts' and 'grandad', who all give him a different name. Please let me know what you thought and any suggestions for future chapters.**_


	3. Little Brother

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to another chapter of Spark and Zapdos' family life. This one is a few years further on from last time and Spark gets a younger brother, of sorts. I hope you all enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Little Brother**

On days like this, Zapdos really wished that Spark had never learned to walk.

He'd been ever so proud of his son when he first tottered towards him on unsteady legs, he hadn't even been trying to teach Spark to walk but his boy had done it all on his own.

But with walking, came the discovery of exploring.

Spark was curious about everything, a new plant…he had to touch it, a hole in the ground…he had to stick his head inside it, a dangling tail of an unsuspecting pokemon…he had to pull it. Several times the boy had nearly gotten himself into trouble, and that was when Zapdos had been trying to keep a sharp eye on him (he hadn't realised how fast babies could move, seriously, how did they get away so quickly when you turned your back?). Now though, a few years down the line, Spark was prone to going very far afield without much in the way of planning.

Leading to Zapdos having to go out and search for his son.

While the island they called home was 'small', it was still a considerably large area to cover when hunting for a single child, with more than enough caves, hideaways, holes and hidden spots for a curious boy to wander into. This made it a difficult task to keep track of the boy, and a headache for Zapdos himself.

* * *

Swooping low, Zapdos' search took him over the beach, and his sharp eyes spotted the instantly recognisable form of his wayward son.

Spark was sat near the water's edge, holding something in his arms with desperate intensity. Even from some distance, he could see the tension in the child's body, setting off alarms in his head.

Something was wrong.

As he landed nearby with a loud thump, Spark's head shot around and relief crossed the boy's face when he saw his father.

"Dad!"

Having been reared by pokemon, Spark understood all of them to some extent. It wasn't like he was fluent in their 'language' (as that in itself was a little different from human perception of language), but he knew enough to get the meaning and intent beside what they said. Zapdos and some of the other 'legendries' were about the only ones he could have the human concept of a 'conversation' with, but he could communicate with other pokemon better than many humans.

Recognising the fear in his son's voice, Zapdos quickly shot to Spark's side, his light reprimand for wandering off too far put aside for the moment, and saw the egg being held tightly in the boy's arms.

"It was in the sea, I think it's too cold!"

Without being asked, Spark told his father where the egg had come from and Zapdos quickly studied it.

Going by what Spark had said, and the fact there were no pokemon in sight, he guessed that the egg had been washed up by the sea. This could happen, if a sea pokemon's egg wasn't properly buried or secured to prevent it being carried off on the ocean currents, but they couldn't tell if this was such an egg, which could be a problem.

A sea pokemon's egg would, naturally, thrive in the ocean conditions, so there was little danger, unless it was from a more tropical species. However, if it was an egg of a land pokemon, then it was at serious risk, depending how long it had been in the sea, it could already be dead.

Leaning over, he lightly touched the egg, trying to sense life within. At first there was nothing, then…a faint flicker…whatever pokemon was within was clinging to life, they had to work fast.

He looked to his son.

"Spark, gently rub the egg, that'll help warm it."

The boy immediately did as he was instructed, fully focused on the task at hand as Zapdos settled himself around the boy and the egg. Right now, they had to warm the egg up to give it a fighting chance.

As Spark kept rubbing, Zapdos kept track of the life inside, whatever pokemon it was, it was a fighter, stubbornly refusing to give up. This determination was good, it greatly increased their chances of the egg actually surviving.

He wasn't sure how long they sat on that beach, trying to coax the egg back to a healthy state, but eventually, the flicker of life within grew stronger, reaching a far more comfortable place.

At this point, they took it back to their nest.

* * *

Over the days that followed, Spark diligently cared for the egg they'd saved.

While it wasn't in immediate danger, there was still a chance it wouldn't survive, but the boy was adamant that it would hatch. He spent ages holding the egg, hugging it in his arms to keep it warm and chatting away to it about all sorts of things.

Many humans, and even some pokemon, believed that pokemon in their eggs couldn't hear you talk to them, so why would you? Zapdos however, thought otherwise.

While they certainly didn't understand you, and possibly couldn't hear you, he was sure they could sense the care someone was showing them, strengthening their bond with whoever hatched them.

As such, he encouraged Spark in caring for the egg, already certain that whatever hatched from the egg was joining their family. There was no way Spark was going to be able to part with the pokemon inside, and he was sure the pokemon itself would want to stay anyway.

It was quite nice actually, Spark would love having a 'sibling' and he himself was quite taken with the idea of having a second 'child'. They were a pretty oddball family already so having a different species of pokemon join them was hardly going to be much stranger.

As such, Zapdos set about prepping for the new arrival, getting in a variety of different berries and food (since they didn't know what pokemon it would be), and enlarging the nest to accommodate the increased number using it.

Two weeks later, the egg hatched.

* * *

Strangely enough, Spark seemed to know it was about to hatch.

He'd woken up that morning and told his father that today was the day. For his part, Zapdos had eyed him thoughtfully but didn't question the boy's certainty, he honestly wouldn't be surprised if his son was right.

Though the boy was still young, Zapdos had already seen him display uncannily accurate instincts, almost sensing things in a way most humans, and even some pokemon couldn't. He'd mentioned this to Articuno, and she'd theorised that these 'senses' were potentially linked to whatever caused him to have hatched from an egg, something she was now looking into.

Either way, if Spark was certain that the egg was about to hatch, then it probably was, and sure enough, it did just that during the afternoon.

* * *

Zapdos had only been a little way from the nest, Spark adamantly staying there until the egg hatched. As such, he easily heard his son's excited yell.

"Dad! Its hatching!"

Zipping back, the lightning bird arrived to see the egg wriggling and bouncing about, Spark kneeling right next to it, eyes wide in excited wonder.

Cracks formed across its surface, covering the previously smooth surface, and it looked like the pokemon inside was determined to enter the world in a dramatic fashion. It suddenly stopped its movements, and Spark leaned in closer, holding his breath in anticipation. He leaned closer and closer, and the moment his nose was nearly touching it…

The egg shattered, causing the boy to fall backwards in surprise as the newly hatched pokemon burst into the world with style.

A Pichu sat blinking at the sudden light, surrounded by egg pieces scattered by its showy entrance, a quick look over allowed Zapdos to identify it as a male and he smiled.

Another son then.

Having recovered from his surprise, Spark sat right in front of the little pokemon and beamed, "Hi little brother!"

For his part, the Pichu looked at the child in confusion, not having a clue as to what he said, and Spark pointed to himself, "I'm Spark, your big brother."

The Pichu still looked confused.

"I'm Spark…your big brother." The boy said more slowly, then pointed to the Pichu, "Little brother."

The electric mouse tilted his head and twitched an ear, still not getting it, and Zapdos chuckled.

"Son, he's just hatched, so he won't understand you yet."

Spark looked up at him, "Oh…" The boy then looked back at his new 'brother', "That's okay." He held his arms open, "Hug?"

While he still had no idea what the boy had said, the Pichu knew enough to recognise him as a friend, and immediately cuddled up to the boy, squeaking in happiness.

Smiling at the, frankly, adorable sight, Zapdos settled himself around them and lightly touched the Pichu's head with his beak, "So, what shall we call him?"

Spark scratched his head thoughtfully for a while, face screwed up in concentration as he gave the question serious consideration. Eventually, he looked up at his father, "Can we call him 'Bolt'!"

The lightning bird could already hear Moltres despairing at the fact his son was as original with his names as he was, but he nodded, "Bolt he is then."

As if to agree, Bolt squeaked happily and let loose some electricity by accident. Fortunately, it was hardly powerful and neither Spark nor Zapdos were hurt. The former because he lived with a powerful, lightning bird and was quite resistant to electricity, and the latter because he was said powerful, lightning bird.

Instead, Spark giggled, finding the jolt ticklish, and rubbed his brother's head, while Zapdos watched fondly.

* * *

 _ **PS-So, Spark now has a Pichu for a little brother. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


End file.
